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Tag: stretching

Let’s talk a little this morning on how we limit ourselves. We all do it. Whether we are limiting our food portions, our snack options, our children from activities, ourselves from being who we are–we limit ourselves.

Here is a song that talks about being limited from the first line:

Now, I agree with speed limits (usually) and age limits (at least I do now, as a teen, I wasn’t too keen on them), and sometimes a good time limit serves a purpose (like when my children need to do their chores or eat a serving of unfavorite veggies off a plate). But, what I want to talk about is how we limit ourselves.

Have you ever said one of these phrases?

I can’t do that.

I can’t do that (because you are so good at it).

I can’t pull that off.

I could never _____________.

I could never do what you are doing.

I didn’t get enough sleep to do that.

I can’t deal with that today (or any day).

I’m done.

I’m totally guilty of the last one. I say it often…but thankfully not as often as I once did. If you are saying one or more of these phrases, will you stop? Do you know how to stop? Do you want to stop? Can you fill your mind with positive, “I can” statements?

Many of you know that I have half-a-dozen children. I do. They are really cool, and I don’t exactly take credit for them. People sometimes ooooo and ahhhh over my abilities. But they didn’t come into my home all at once. (Two of them came together–and that was one of the most difficult experiences of my life, but that’s another story.) As I had one–or two–at a time, my capacity increased to be able to take care of my children. I was blessed with more insight and patience.

I am undertaking another stretching and creative experience right now. This experience, along with trying to manage my family’s increasingly hectic schedule, has been difficult. But, I have also been blessed to grow and learn with each new undertaking. With the traumas we experienced last fall, my capacities grew again. Right now, I’m working on community outreach with a Writing for Wellness program. With each new endeavor, I learn and grow and become more developed as a human than I was yesterday, or last week, or two months ago.

Certainly, life calls for times of rest and recuperation. Sometimes we are stretched beyond what we are able and we need to ask for help or let some less important tasks go. (Don’t ask me how clean my house is or when the last time I folded laundry was….) But sometimes we need to say YES to stretching ourselves beyond our current abilities. Once we decide to do this, we will have people and opportunities placed in our path where we can work “For Good.”

So…last week I took a break from the wide world of exercise. Prior to that week, I was getting in about 3 workouts/week (to help maintain muscle tone, lower stress levels, and keep up with the massive amounts of carbs I’ve been eating…and to claim all the happy heart benefits of exercising….). Anyway, by Saturday, my stress level was…shall we say HIGH…and I was missing the fresh air and pavement under my feet. So, I decided that I was–come what may–going to run.

I found my workout gear, running jacket, iPod headphones, and shoes. I laced up both shoes, then sat for a moment to add some recently acquired music to my “a good run” playlist. As I did, I felt something poking the inside of my right ankle. I unlaced my shoes (have I mentioned that I abhor tying shoes and avoid this action whenever possible?) to investigate. I pushed around my sock and flicked at the spot in my shoe until I was satisfied that the sharp object digging into my skin had exited.

I started a load of (long overdue) laundry.

I stretched.

I added a few more songs.

I took a sip of water.

Then, I popped the ear buds into my ears and searched for a song that would pump up my energy level and inspire me to keep moving muscles in a way I hadn’t done for…well, let’s just say it’s been awhile…. 🙂

Rob Bass started chanting in my ear (thank heavens my dear friend edited the song for me so I could listen to it in peace), and my feet were keeping up with the rhythm, pounding with the force of weekly frustrations and newfound strength. I didn’t even care about keeping pace or running far; I just needed the boost of pavement beneath my feet and the spirit of the earth flowing around me. I felt renewed, refreshed, and amazing. The wind hit my face like a wall, but I kept moving. A few more songs, and I was back home to lift, do push ups and abs.

The next morning, I got out of bed with shin splints. Oops! I guess I forgot to stretch those muscles! Still, with every step I took, I was reminded of the rush of energy of my run and of the work I am doing to live healthy and to be strong. The shin splints were practically a gift…and I was grateful for them. 🙂

What do you do to combat stress and to increase your personal health and strength?

P.S. Did you know that Brooks (awesome running shoes) has a Wear Tester Program for their products? You can fill out a profile, and you become eligible to try out their new gear for FREE…pretty sweet, eh? 🙂